Fifteen‐day observation of mesospheric and lower thermospheric motions with the aid of the Arecibo UHF radar

An attempt was made to have a continuous observation of the zonal wind component in the tropical mesosphere and lower thermosphere for 15 days of August 1–15, 1980, with the aid of the UHF radar at Arecibo (18°N). By using the wind data, together with additional data obtained from meteorological rockets, meteor radar, and Tiros-N satellite, analyses were made of the time-mean zonal wind profile, tides, long-period waves, and short-period gravity-type waves, respectively. There appears a remarkable day-to-day variation of the zonal wind throughout the region between 70 and 95 km with a characteristic time scale of about 5 days, indicating the passage of traveling planetary-scale waves in the summertime tropical middle atmosphere. It was also found that the short-period oscillation with a time scale of a few 10 min appears intermittently in association with the strong vertical shear of the background flow. This oscillation is considered to be the manifestation of the Kelvin-Helmholtz type instability in the lower thermosphere.

[1]  S. Fukao,et al.  Altitude smearing due to instrumental resolution in MST radar measurements , 1982 .

[2]  A. Manson,et al.  Winds and waves (10 min‐30 days) in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere at Saskatoon (52°N, 107°W, L = 4.3) during the year, October 1979 to July 1980 , 1981 .

[3]  K. Fukuyama.  Incoherent scatter radar observations of wavelike structures in the mesosphere over Arecibo , 1981 .

[4]  S. M. Ball,et al.  Mesospheric winds at low‐ and mid‐latitudes in the southern hemisphere , 1981 .

[5]  M. Salby.  Rossby Normal Modes in Nonuniform Background Configurations. Part II. Equinox and Solstice Conditions , 1981 .

[6]  J. Fellous,et al.  Simultaneous meteor radar observations at Monpazier (France, 44°N) and Punta Borinqnen (Puerto Rico, 18°N). III—The latitudinal variations of the energy of gravity waves (2–8 h) in the high mesosphere , 1981 .

[7]  R. Bernard,et al.  Simultaneous meteor radar observations at Monpazier (France, 44°N) and Punta Borinquen (Puerto-Rico, 18°N). I—Latitudinal variations of atmospheric tides , 1981 .

[8]  R. Bernard,et al.  Simultaneous meteor radar observations at Monpazier (France, 44°N) and Punta Borinquen (Puerto Rico, 18°N). II—Mean zonal wind and long period waves , 1981 .

[9]  C. Tepley,et al.  A comparison between thomson scatter and meteor radar wind measurements in the 65–105 km altitude region at Arecibo , 1981 .

[10]  A. Manson,et al.  Long-period oscillations in mesospheric and lower thermospheric winds (60-110km) at Saskatoon (52.DEG.N, 107.DEG.W, L=4.3). , 1981 .

[11]  J. Klostermeyer,et al.  Radar observation and model computation of a jet stream‐generated Kelvin‐Helmholtz instability , 1980 .

[12]  J. Klostermeyer.  Computation of acoustic‐gravity waves, Kelvin‐Helmholtz instabilities,and wave‐induced eddy transport in realistic atmospheric models , 1980 .

[13]  S. Fukao,et al.  A preliminary radar observation of long‐period waves in the tropical mesosphere over Jicamarca , 1980 .

[14]  J. Röttger.  Structure and dynamics of the stratosphere and mesosphere revealed by VHF radar investigations , 1980 .

[15]  K. S. Gage,et al.  The MST radar technique: Potential for middle atmospheric studies , 1980 .

[16]  P. Czechowsky,et al.  VHF radar measurements during a jet stream passage , 1980 .

[17]  W. Gordon,et al.  A review of radar studies of the middle atmosphere , 1980 .

[18]  K. Fukuyama,et al.  Incoherent Scattering of an Electromagnetic Wave in the Mesosphere: A Theoretical Consideration , 1980 .

[19]  M. Salby,et al.  Long-Period Oscillations in the Meteor Region , 1980 .

[20]  G. Cevolani,et al.  Systematic measurements of northern hemisphere winds in the meteor region at 45° latitude , 1980 .

[21]  R. A. Madden,et al.  Observations of large‐scale traveling Rossby waves , 1979 .

[22]  W. Gordon,et al.  Mesospheric winds and waves over Jicamarca on May 23–24, 1974 , 1979 .

[23]  J. R. Grant,et al.  Buoyancy waves in the troposphere: Doppler radar observations and a theoretical model , 1979 .

[24]  S. Bowhill,et al.  First measurements of mesospheric vertical velocities by VHF radar at temperate latitudes , 1978 .

[25]  D. G. Stephenson,et al.  Winds and Wave Motions to 110 km at Midlatitudes. VI. Tidal, Gravity and Planetary Waves, 1976 , 1978 .

[26]  R. Harper.  Preliminary measurements of the ion component of the incoherent scatter spectrum in the 60‐90 km region over Arecibo , 1978 .

[27]  J. Mathews.  Measurements of the diurnal tides in the 80‐ to 100‐km altitude range at Arecibo , 1976 .

[28]  R. Dickinson,et al.  The Five-Day Wave on a Sphere with Realistic Zonal Winds. , 1976 .

[29]  C. Rodgers.  Evidence for the Five-Day Wave in the Upper Stratosphere , 1976 .

[30]  P. Rastogi,et al.  Gravity waves in the equatorial mesosphere , 1976 .

[31]  A. Spizzichino,et al.  Waves in the lower thermosphere: Recent experimental investigations , 1974 .

[32]  Ronald F. Woodman,et al.  Radar Observations of Winds and Turbulence in the Stratosphere and Mesosphere. , 1974 .

[33]  H. Muller,et al.  A discussion on D and E region winds over Europe - Long-period meteor wind oscillations , 1972, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.